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July 03, 2013

Complexity... Pros & Cons....

8 The way of peace they have not known, And there is no justice in their ways;

They have made themselves crooked paths; Whoever takes that way shall not know peace.

If I could spend a few hours or days on this image, I would try to "photoshop" out the trees and limbs right in the center of the image. The interest aspects of it, to my eye, are the geometric patterns of criss-crossing diagonals juxtaposed to the arc and horizontal top of the tunnel and the trees/branches there detract from that. But it would be painstaking, pixel by pixel work and I am probably just too lazy to do it.

However, even with the cluttering trees, the complexity of the image does communicate a message of sorts. Complexity is, within creation, an entirely human concept.

The interplay of lines and arcs, for good or ill, is only perceptible by human beings. A dog would not pause and ponder the scene and think to himself, "my, my... look at that." I don't even think the so-called "higher" primates think in those terms. If we think of creaturely complexity, such as bee hives or ant hills, we notice very interesting internal diversity and functional differentiation but we don't see the individual ant or bee as even being aware of that "big picture." The worker ant has a job to do, does it, eats when he's hungry, dies when he's done. Simple... nothing complex there.

So, complexity is a human concept. And, as is always the case, there is "good" complexity and "bad." The "good" complexity, as I think I have commented on before, is that of a finely engineered and constructed locomotive. There is an elegance there even when the net result if brute strength. Another illustration is the special satisfaction we get when we bring order to spaces, such as when a cook orders his or her kitchen and has everything right in its proper and most efficient place. There might be an amazing quantity of instruments and pots and pans and cooking supplies present but the beauty of the arrangement is the way it all is logically and practically stored. In such cases complexity is appreciated and valued.

But there is also that "other" kind of complexity. There are those things which make life more difficult or which pose major obstacles to our well being and piece of mind. There are the unintended or undesired consequences that inevitably cloud our well being. This type of complexity is always present to some extent, it is the natural manifestation of the curse on Adam. But there is also that complexity above and beyond the normal. That complexity that invariably follows, and flows from, sin.

Sin never simplifies... it always obscures, diminishes, makes more difficulty, our well being. Isaiah says, above, that "the way of peace, they (sinners who sin from the heart) have not known." There can be no peace for the wicked. They "shall not know peace." These powerful words remind us that we sin to our own detriment, always. Yet, the temptation to sin is equally always clothed in the very opposite message. "Do this and your life will be better... more pleasurable... happier... etc. etc." Or we will think we can avoid the consequences or offset them in some other way. The best laid plans "gang aft agley." Complexity arises, and in dealing with the complexity, if we do not repent but try to react to the situation with more sinful actions or decisions, then there is a multiplying, exponential effect. Life rapidly becomes more complex than we can handle. Lies beget lies. Stealing begets killing. Disrespect begets hate. It goes on and on.

This is the complexity that steals the peace from our lives even as it wraps us in the chains of bondage to our sinful behavior. Life may even become unbearable and we may break under the strain.

In this case, complexity is not only "bad", it is deadly.

In such a case, quite often in my experience, all that can be done is a complete break with the patterns of behavior that has bred the tangled web of sin and results. There are times when, even in relationships, a drastic pruning has to happen so that new, healthy growth can take place.

If we find our lives so incredibly complex that joy and peace are absent then chances are, somewhere down the pike, we have succumbed to some very wrong thinking. Life is complex enough as it is, with just the ordinary effects of sin generally present in the world. Why would we, logically, want to add to it. The pathway of Christ is the pathway of repentance which is the pathway of delighting in God's law. It illuminates even as it simplifies our life.

And when such is the case then we are free to pursue and appreciate the marvelous, interlocking complexity of God's plans for our lives from a framework of ultimate satisfaction.